Gustav Mahler Symphony No 4 Composed when he was influenced by the Knaben Wunderhorn collected folk poems it stands unique in form and aspiration. Christopher Breunig offers an introduction

摘要

As this issue of HFN is likely to reach you during the festive period, why not a piece that starts with sleigh-bells? No, not Leroy Anderson, but Mahler's fourth symphony, written in 1899-1900, and first performed in Munich in November 1901. The UK premiere came just a few years later in a 1905 Prom concert with Sir Henry Wood. As the conductor Ivan Fischer has said, Mahler had set out to create 'a childish symphony' the opening two-flute motifs 'like two children in a kindergarten'. But the music flows with a complete naturalness, says Fischer, combining Viennese flavours with innocence to achieve something entirely unique.